Thousands backing British Bulldog Hall of Fame bid
A petition to get Davey Boy Smith inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame is gathering momentum.
Smith, who hailed from Golborne, was a huge hit in the 1980s and 90s wrestling as the British Bulldog.
Fan Michael Finney launched a campaign to get Smith honoured by the World Wresting Entertaintment three years ago.
Now, his online petition has attracted nearly 12,000 signatures.
And the campaign has received the heavyweight backing from ex-wrestlers and celebrities, including Baywatch star David Hasselhoff.
Finney, 33, of Mansfield, said: “I set up the website because I felt he should be in the Hall of Fame. There’s no Englishman in there, and it would be great if the British Bulldog was the first.
“I didn’t envisage the petition getting so many signatures, but it shows how highly he was regarded.”
Finney says he has sent the petition to the WWE officials, but has not had a response. Among those in the Hall of Fame are Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant and Bret Hart.
Smith wrestled with his cousin Tom Billington as the British Bulldogs at the start of their career in WWE (then WWF), the biggest organisation in professional wrestling.
The dad-of-two later went solo and became known around the world for his beaded dreadlocks and being draped in a Union Jack.
He died of heart failure in 2002, aged 39.
The petition can be signed online via teamdaveyboysmith.com or through the change.org website, and searching for British Bulldog.